Studying Texas Politics and Government

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Studying Texas Politics and Government
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A Framework

• Pulls together facts and places them in context
• Explains the history of Texas politics and
  government
• Results
• An appreciation for Texass political past
• A comprehension of contemporary politics and
  government
• An understanding of change

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Components of the Framework

• Conceptions of Politics and Government
• Central Role of Ideas The American Creed
• Analyzing Politics
• Individualism
• Liberty
• Equality
• Analyzing Government
• Constitutionalism
• democracy
• Analyzing Political Change

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Politics and Government

• Politics involves the authoritative allocation
  of values for a society.
• Government consists of those institutions and
  process for making public policy
• Public policy is any government decision
• Institutions include the structures of government
  that make the decisions
• Processes include the way decisions are made

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American Creed

• America was built on a set of ideas
• These ideas have been strongly supported since
  the late 18th century
• The ideas perform two functions
• Provide a national identity
• Limit government

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Five ideas Individualism

• Most important and source for other ideas
• Confirms the worth of each individual
• Grants a person the right to pursue life, liberty
  and property free from social constraints
• Allows person to act in accordance with his/her
  own conscience

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Five Ideas Liberty

• Different from individualism
• Freedom from government
• Disagreement over how much liberty a person
  should have
• Conflict between liberty and social order

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Five Ideas Equality

• Greatest problem for Americans
• Three meanings
• Political equality
• Economic equality
• Social equality

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Five Ideas Constitutionalism

• Places limits on government
• Contract among members of the political community
• Provides the structure of government
• Distributes the powers of government

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Five Ideas Democracy

• Rule by the people
• Procedures for making decisions
• How government decisions are made
• Who participates in government decisions
• How much weight is assigned to each participants
  preferences

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Conditions of Democracy Fiskin

• Political equality
• Each persons preferences given equal
  consideration, and each person has an equal
  opportunity to formulate his or her preferences
• Nontyranny
• Public policy must not infringe on the
  fundamental rights of any member of society.

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Conditions of Democracy

• Participation
• A significant percentage of the population is
  engaged in politics and government.
• Deliberation
• There is a meaningful discussion of political
  issues so that each person can make an informed
  choice on issues and candidate.

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Forms of Democracy Conditions

• Majoritarian democracy
• Majority rules
• Values majority rule formal political equality
• Direct or indirect
• Protection of minority may present a problem

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Forms of Democracy Conditions

• Pluralist democracy
• Interest-group democracy
• Values protection of minority rights
  representative government in diverse society
  deliberation

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Institutions Forms of Democracy

• Majoritarian Democracy
• Unification of authority centralized politics
• Institutions executive and political parties
• Separation of powers undesirable
• Judicial review undesirable

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Institutions Forms of Democracy

• Pluralist Democracy
• Separation of authority decentralized politics
• Institutions legislature and interest groups
• Separation of powers desirable
• Judicial review necessary

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Non-democratic Alternative

• Elitism
• Power is concentrated and held by those who
  control the economy.
• The conditions of democracy are not met.
• Decisions made by the elite flow down to the
  masses, who do not influence those decisions.
• Most politicians are merely intermediaries
  between the elites and the masses.

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Political Change

• IvI Gap
• Attempt to create institutions that reflect all
  five ideas
• Impossible since the ideas are often in conflict
• Creates a cognitive dissonance discrepancy
  between what we believe (five ideas) and what we
  do (institutions)

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Factors Influencing Responses

• Strength in belief in the ideal
• Strong
• Weak
• Clarity of perception of the gap
• Clear
• Unclear

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Responses to the IvI Gap
Perception of the Gap Clear Unclear
Moralism (eliminate gap) Hypocrisy (deny gap)
Cynicism (tolerate gap) Complacency (ignore gap)
Strong Strength of Belief in Ideal Weak
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Historical Responses to the IvI Gap

• Moralism 1965 1975, reaction to U.S.
  involvement in Vietnam, Civil Rights Movement,
  Voting Rights, Womens Movement
• Cynicism 1975 1980, removal of a president,
  war continued, improvement in many areas, gap was
  not eliminated.
• Complacency 1980s
• Hypocrisy 1961- 1965, Kennedys inaugural
  address, Peace Corps,

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Factors Associated with Periods of Moralism
(Creedal Passion)

• Economic growth followed by downturn
• Disparities in wealth in society
• Large number of young people in society
• Leadershippeople who point out that America has
  not achieved the ideal